Pre-E3 2006: Power Stone Collection: Hands-On

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Latest impressions, screens and footage from the brawler compilation.

By Juan Castro

Capcom first announced Power Stone Collection during its annual press event, held this year in Las Vegas. The game didn't make it to the show, however, and only appeared through brief trailer. But this didn't keep the audience from getting excited. It looked downright cool, after all, especially given the fact it seemed to capture the essence of both Power Stone and Power Stone 2. It didn't appear like a water-downed version of the classic party title.

On the contrary, everything that made the original such a hit looked to return in full form. And now, after testing an early build, it still looks that way. All the frenetic action and oddball mayhem of the original titles actually plays well on the PSP. All the problems you think would plague a portable version of Power Stone simply aren't there. It's relatively easy to monitor the action, for instance. You won't have a hard time keeping track of characters, especially yours, even with the reduced screen size. And that's because of the enhancements made to the camera system, which lets you toggle between wide, mid and close range.

The action itself remains simple and intuitive. The face buttons control a majority of commands, of course, which include a few attack options and the regulatory "pick up item" command. Each arena packs its own obstacles, quirks and power-ups, and mastering each aspect is still just as important. One of the coolest aspects of any stage, vehicles, also returns and shuttling around the stage in a mini-tank is just as fun as it was back on the Dreamcast.

In terms of presentation, Power Stone Collection looks and sounds just as it should. Which means it's very close to the original arcade and Dreamcast offerings. Sure, there's a slight drop in quality when it comes to textures and animation, but it's nothing that'll truly get in the way of enjoying the experience. And it's certainly not enough to make it look like anything but a Power Stone game. And in the end, that's the only thing that should matter. Also, developers didn't remove anything in terms of effects; they more or less just streamlined everything to make it a more mobile-friendly product.

And then there's probably the coolest feature, Ad-Hoc mode, which lets you and a few friends duke it out wirelessly. Power Stone lets two players battle, while Power Stone 2 lets four players get in on the action. Setup is pretty easy, and from the brief play test there doesn't seem to be that much lag at all. Even at its craziest, the action remains relatively smooth and stutter-free. The compilation also includes game sharing, which means you'll be able to beam over entire stages to friends that don't have their own copy of the game. Then it's a simple matter of setting up a wireless match (up to three players) and it's off to the virtual arena.

You'll score a bunch of PSP-exclusive bonuses like items and weapons, all of which you'll need to unlock. You can also take screenshots of the action using the all-new screenshot mode. It's not a huge deal, but it's a nice little tool regardless. Throw in the new training mode and a host of slight enhancements to the interface, and you have the makings of one swell package.